Today’s Washington Post has a great article on Rock Steady, the boxing program for people with Parkinson’s disease. Again and again, Rock Steady delivers a one-two knockout punch to the disease.
The entire article is quotable. Here are two snippets:
A 2013 review in Lancet Neurology made a compelling case for the role of exercise that incorporates “goal-based” components — where people need to pay constant attention to what their body is doing and make adjustments in response to external feedback. Boxing, tai chi, tango and similar activities, the review said, seem to improve the brain function of people with Parkinson’s, which improves movement.
……………
Parkinson’s medications, such as synthetic dopamine, alleviate some motor symptoms. But their effectiveness is limited and they do not address the cognitive problems that many Parkinsonians can develop, which range from becoming easily distracted and disorganized to having trouble focusing or remembering words when speaking.
The brain has a remarkable ability to adapt to damage caused by disease or injury by growing new brain cells, the review noted, and goal-based exercise facilitates this ability.
Prior to getting Parkinson’s, the only boxers I was interested in were the sexy underpants some guys wore. But now I think Rock Steady boxers belong in the pantheon of Parkinson Greats.
For the Rock Steady home page, click here: pow!
